Fried Rice Recipes
There is something about fried rice that makes me smile whenever I make it. For one thing, Mark and I love the taste of any fried rice we make. The second thing is how easy it is to make. You use leftover white rice (my favorite) and add other leftovers or veggies from the garden in the refrigerator. We’ve all heard, “Waste not, want not.”
White rice is a good food storage item because you can make many meals with it. Add some beans and some spices, and you are good to go. If you are low on rice, please pick up a few bags the next time you go to the grocery store. You’ll be glad you have some stored. Please remember that white rice lasts longer than brown rice.
How Do You Cook White Rice
I’m hoping to teach the world to cook from scratch, so we may as well start with white rice, right?
- 2 cups white rice
- 3 cups water
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I typically use 2 cups of dry rice to 3 cups of water.
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You can rinse your rice, if desired, and use a saucepan, rice cooker or pressure cooker.
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If you boil the rice, bring the water and rice to a boil. Cook with a lid on for 17 minutes.
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I like using my rice cooker because I just throw all the ingredients in the pan, put the lid on and push the button to turn it on.
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Then I go about doing my daily activities and serve it when the yellow light comes on. It keeps it warm, and that works for me.
Pork or Bacon Fried Rice
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- 1 cup frozen peas, uncooked
- 1 cup chopped onions, uncooked
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup leftover chopped pork or bacon
- 6 eggs, slightly beaten
- 1 teaspoon Soy Sauce (optional)
- pepper to taste
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Cook the eggs in the butter until cooked thoroughly. Set aside.
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Cook the peas and onion until tender.
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Combine the rice, eggs, veggies, meat, and heat through. Add Soy Sauce and pepper.
Mexican Fried Rice
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 1 4-ounce can green chilies
- 1 cup frozen corn (thawed)
- 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
- 1/2 cup fresh or frozen green beans
- 1/2 cup chopped onions
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon Paprika
- pepper to taste
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Heat the oil in a frying pan with the onions and cook until tender.
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Add the remaining ingredients and cook until heated through.
Vegetable Fried Rice
- 6 eggs, slightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup chopped red or green bell peppers
- 1 cup onions, chopped
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed
- 2 cups cooked white rice
- 1 teaspoon Soy Sauce
- pepper to taste
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Cook the eggs in the butter and set them aside.
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Cook the bell peppers, onions, and carrots in the olive oil until tender.
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Add the eggs, rice together and sprinkle the Soy Sauce over the ingredients in the frying pan. Serve when heated through.
Egg Fried Rice
Please look below for step-by-step directions on how I make fried rice. I do better with pictures, and I hope they help you as much as they help me.
- 2 cups cooked rice
- 6 eggs, slightly beaten
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup chopped onions, frozen or fresh
- 1 cup frozen peas, thawed slightly
- 1 teaspoon Soy Sauce
- pepper to taste
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Cook the eggs in the butter and set them aside.
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Cook the peas and onions until tender.
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Combine the ingredients with heat thoroughly. Stir in the Soy Sauce and serve.
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Stir in the Soy Sauce and serve.
How Long Does White Rice Last?
There are several different ways to purchase white rice for storage. I have several cases of white rice in #10 cans for long-term storage. I keep only two of my favorite bags of jasmine white rice in plastic containers in my pantry. I buy the rice in bags from Harmons or Costco. I don’t use Mylar bags ever. It’s good from the store in the bags for 4 – 5 years.
Please keep in mind that we can’t store food where the temperatures may get above 75 degrees or so for the long term. Although that would be my house in the summer, I’m just giving you the heads up here. Our utilities are ridiculously high because they are set by the local city government and not offered out to bid to save us money. Therefore, I keep the air conditioning at 76 degrees.
White rice will last 25-30 years if purchased from a good source such as Thrive Life in #10 cans unopened. Thrive Life’s #10 cans are good for five years if opened.
Honeyville Grain states 10-15 years on their #10 cans. It doesn’t state how long it will last if opened.
How Long Does Brown Rice Last?
Brown rice is supposed to be healthier for us, but its high-fat content means that storing it for the long term just doesn’t work. It will stay good for 6-12 months. Brown rice retains its bran and germ layers and is more nutritious than white rice. You can substitute brown rice with the white rice in each recipe above.
How Long Does Cooked Rice Last?
If not eaten right away, white rice must be refrigerated within four hours of cooking. When stored in the refrigerator, it will be good for three days.
Why Is My Fried Rice Mushy?
Sometimes, if the rice is too fresh, it may make your fried rice too mushy. I spread it out for about a half-hour to let it cool. It’s not cold, but it is cool. If you add too much sauce to your pan, the fried rice may also become mushy. And if the vegetables have too much moisture, they can make it mushy.
What Food Goes With Fried Rice?
You can make it a one-pan dish or add meat, fish, or fresh fruit. You can use just about any vegetable or meat to make fried rice recipes.
How To Make Egg-Fried Rice
Step One: Fry the Eggs
I like to fry the eggs separately. I used a little butter to fry the eggs; there was no milk, just six beaten eggs.
Step Two: Cook the Onions & Peas
Then, I cooked the frozen chopped onions with the frozen peas. You can use fresh veggies, and I just happened to have some frozen ones. Plus, they taste sweeter to me.
Step Three: Cook the White Rice
I cooked the white rice and spread it on a cookie sheet to cool down. If the rice is cooler, it is less likely to make your fried rice mushy. This is why leftover rice is fantastic. It’s in the refrigerator and is already cool.
Step Four: Combine Cooked Items – Add Soy Sauce
Then, you combine the rice, meat, and/or veggies in one pan and add some Soy Sauce if you like it. I have also used Bragg sauce. I pepper everything out of habit. Here’s the finished product. I didn’t put any meat in it, but you can.
Final Word
I hope you stock rice in your food storage stash. You can make fried rice and many other recipes to fill the belly. Thanks for being prepared for the unexpected. May God bless this world. Linda
Yum! These look great! My hubby made spam fried rice a couple of weeks ago. It was surprisingly good!
Thanks for sharing!
Hi Heidi, I love hearing your hubby made spam fried rice! Oh my gosh, I grew up on SPAM! Linda
Linda, I love fried rice but I am watching my carbs! So, I discovered that frozen cauliflower “rice” works well when I crave fried rice. Of course, there is no long term storage for cauliflower “rice”!
I do have some long term storage rice, however and if things get bad, I will use that!
One thing that I do with my fried rice is to add toasted sesame oil. I don’t know why but it gives my dish a little extra Asian flavor. I have also had home fried rice with fish sauce or oyster sauce but I don’t care for those particular flavors.
Hi Leanne, I’m so glad you mentioned toasted sesame oil. I have some of that!! I need to buy some cauliflower rice again!! I used to make pizza with it. Sometimes I get busy and forget about that yummy dish! Great tip! Linda
Why do you never use mylar bags?
Hi John, the reason I don’t use Mylar bags is that I buy my long term food in #10 cans. I dry packed about $1200.00 worth of food at a local church processing center (they are now closed) and I was not told the correct amount of oxygen absorbers to use. The food was rancid after one year when we started opening the cans. We had to trash all of it. That was a learning curve for me. I then took a class on how to use the correct cc’s of oxygen absorbers and realized why I will never use Mylar bags. It’s just me, I would rather not waste my dollars again. That was an expensive learning curve. Linda
Linda,
I have some 5-gallon buckets / pails of wheat in Mylar bags with O2 absorbers and it’s kept well for decades. In fact I had two 25 pound bags of wheat I had forgotten about and when we opened them after more than 10 years in storage, we fully expected to see things flying out; but, they were both surprisingly fine. Cool & dry storage evidently makes the difference.
I am not a member of your church; but, have friends who are and the local Store house allows non-members to purchase and up to a few years ago, to dry pack #10 cans for personal use; but, that part has been eliminated for everyone, due I think to FDA or USDA involvement. In any case, the friends have convinced me that #10 cans are better than buckets; but, even these use O2 absorbers, except for packing sugar, so we have many cases of wheat, and grain, and rice, and sugar and the fruit drink mix that we lovingly call LDS Tang, since it mixes and tastes the same as the brand name.
For fried rice, you can freeze dry or dehydrate it and it reconstitutes rather well; but, like anything with oil, long term requires refrigeration. We often do small batches of it when we’re doing Chinese using a wok, which come to think of it has been a while and makes me think I should get to it again later this week.
Hi Ohio Prepper, I love hearing from you that your wheat is doing fine. Sugar and salt should never have O2 absorbers or you will be so sorry! BRICKS! LOL! It’s not funny, but people do not realize those two items do not need oxygen absorbers. Life is good with food storage! Linda
I love Chinese food and stir fry dishes. I have made fried rice from left over rice and added in a can of peas and carrots and canned chicken or used frozen veggies. But instead of soy sauce, I use Kitchen Bouquet and a squirt of Worcester sauce to achieve the same taste or flavor without the high level of sodium in soy sauce.
Fried rice makes for a nice light, late night meal.
Question: What do you think about storing rice in soda bottles? This is popular with a lot of preppers. They fill the bottle to the top and cap them. Bad idea or okay?
Hi Frank, I remember my mom used Kitchen Bouquet!! Great tip! I have seen the soda bottles filled with all different items. My only concern is how clean are they after washing them. The other is I fear they may crack eventually. I don’t like to be critical of how people store food. I’m glad they are storing it. I keep my rice (5-pound bags) in plastic containers to keep the critters away. I buy long-term rice in #10 cans. It’s just me, I do not like waste. It all depends on the budget of those stocking up. We have to do what works for our budget. I don’t drink soda so those bottles wouldn’t work for me. Linda
My son is allergic to egg and milk products,any recipes for fried rice omitting egg or using substitutions?
Hi Mary, I would put more vegetables. I have several family members that do not eat dairy and they skip the eggs. It’s delicious without eggs! Linda
Is there a rice in #10 can’s that taste & cooks like Uncle Ben’s rice? There are only two of us & we only rice twice a month. Will rice keep longer than 10 years unopened & should all rice be tossed out if it has an odor?
Hi Zandie, ThriveLife (.com) has a #10 can of Instant White (30 years shelf life-if open 2 years) & Instant Brown Rice (7 years shelf life-if open 1 year). Where did you get the rice with an odor? I had to throw out a bunch from the LDS Church Cannery. It was all rancid and smelled bad. They did not have the right oxygen absorbers in them. Please be safe. Linda
Just a heads up in white rice. It contains levels of toxins that can harm us. To get rid of them just put 1 c. rice in 4 c. boiling water for 5 min.. drain and add 2c. new water and simmer until done and water is absorbed. The problem comes from the water is grown in. Too often the water isn’t as clean as we would want. The above method gets rid of the excess toxins and the rice is just fine our us to eat.
Hi Cheryl, this a great reminder on the rice, great tips on how to be safe, thank you, Linda
All of these sound great and will be great addition to our recipe file. All of them will be easy to make with our food storage items. Of course, being Texan, we will soon make the Mexican fried rice. LOL!
Hi Harry, thank you for the 5 stars, my sweet friend! You know with rice we can make so many different meals. What would you add to the Mexican fried rice, since Texans know how to make the best black beans, pinto beans and Mexican fried rice? I wish I could fly back to Texas and get some real Mexican food! LOL! Austin, Texas was the first place I had ever tasted black beans, oh man, were they yummy! Linda
We will most likely leave out the green beans as those are not normally Mexican food staples. We would add some cilantro either to the recipe or use as garnish when serving. And, if available, we might add some finely chopped nopalitos.
Hi Harry, I had to Google: Nopalitos (prickly pear cactus), I learn something new every day. LOL! I love it! Oh Cilantro is a must, for sure, I love cilantro in so many dishes. You’re the best, Linda